Teach Me How to Sing
by dee-jayDJ
Summary: He'd tried. God, he had tried. Tried so hard to get his songbird to sing for him. It seemed a lost cause. A caged bird just didn't want to share its music with the world. - bird!John and Dave


He really was a pretty songbird now wasn't he? The way he would sing, his fingers gliding over the piano keys with such intimate knowledge proved that. It was only fitting that he had the wings to match, blue as the skies John desperately wished to explore. There was no way that would happen though, not with him trapped, captured, kept as an exotic pet and used for his musical talents. However, it's come to the point where John could hardly bring himself to touch the piano much less sing and he knew that his 'master' would come to punish him sooner or later. And there's something poignantly depressing about a silent songbird. Something that left the halls echoing with the shuffles and clicks of wings against metal bars, without a tune to carry them.

He'd tried. God, he had tried. Tried so hard to get his songbird to sing for him. Others had tried, as well. It seemed a lost cause. A caged bird just didn't want to share its music with the world. Thoughts like these toss around in his head as he stands before the cage, eyes half-lidded and arms crossed loosely over his chest, expression flat and almost uninterested, despite the turmoil he felt. Such a pretty bird, he really was, why couldn't he just _sing for him_. After a long time of standing, observing, holding his breath to catch the slightest hint of a sound, Dave strode forward, hands curling against the bars in front of him.

"What do I have to do to get you to play. Hm?"

The voice from outside of his cage catches his attention and John tilts his head towards the other, silent, judging if he should even answer back at this point. Really, if he tried hard enough he could just not speak for the rest of his life (or at least until he was released) but even he could admit that was a sad way to live his life (and this wasn't?) John lets a rush of air escape his lips before he looks away from Dave, his wings coming around to conceal him in just the slightest ways, "Oh I don't know. Letting me free seems like an excellent way get me in the mood to sing and play." And his fingers tighten around the bars, the only visible tension in Dave, knuckles white with the grip. Oh, the only thing he ever got out of his pet was quips and little snide remarks. It would be charming if he wasn't getting so fed up with it all. He leans in a little bit closer, until his head rests against one of the horizontal bars of the cage, dull eyes staring down at the bird boy.

"I feed you better than I feed myself. I gave you the best piano I could afford. You have more than enough room in there. I'm giving you ever luxury I can outside of freedom. What more do you want?"

"I want to be free. I want _fly_. I want to feel the wind in my hair and in my feathers. I don't want to be _here_. I could live in luxury and I'd still choose to be free even if it meant that I might not eat." Really, his answer should have been obvious but he still says it, his voice heated and full of want, the pure _need_ for freedom, "I won't sing until I get that. You can take back the piano, you can take back all of the stupid little luxuries. I don't _want_ them. I never had." And then he's standing, his wings tucking in close to his body, "That's what _I_ want."

For a long time Dave says nothing. Watches the way John's chest heaved with every breath and his feathers shift with the pull of his wings. His hand slips a bit, sliding in an almost ironic representation of his own slowly dropping will, though he was still hanging on. "If I let you go, you'd never come back," he says simply, shrugging a little. It sounds like the most obvious thing in the world- because it is. "You'd take off and sing to yourself and I'd never get to hear it. I want you happy, and I want you, but there's no way to have both."

Reluctantly, his eyes break away, only for a moment, steadying himself and his resolve. "God knows it's a lost cause. But I have a bad habit of forgetting how to give up on anything."

There was really nothing that John could say to counter that. He knew it was true. He knew that at the first signs of freedom, he would leave, fly away and never look back. He would fly away from Dave, from this damned _cage_ and live in the skies where he belonged. He would sooner cut off his wings then willingly return to this cage, "You can't keep me here forever." And oh, how he would love to believe that, how he would love to think that one day Dave would be forced to give him his freedom, "One day, you'll have to let me go whether you like it or not. There's a reason why I would never come back. Would you want to return to the place where you were the saddest?"

_Can't keep him there forever._ The words struck and hit deep, and Dave seems to physically recoil from them, from the idea of them. No, of course he can't. Something would go amiss, and he'd lose him. Forever. The thought seems to weigh on him for a bit and he takes time for another silence. And, for one moment that truly terrifies him, his hand twitches, starting a weak sort of reach into the cage, an ache settling into the pit of his stomach with the destination he wants so badly. As soon as he began to move, he withdraws his hand, shoving it into his pocket, trying to swallow past the lump in his throat that rises with the sound of a key scratching against his watch as he dug around. A couple steps to the right, and the key is shoved unceremoniously into the lock that kept his little songbird cooped up, tugging it off in drawn out movements. The key and the lock both go back into his pocket as he steps back, eyes following the grout of the tile across the floor while he spoke.

"If you love something, let it go," he murmurs, more to himself than the boy he was setting free. "If it comes back, it's yours. Not really giving up, is it. I can still hope you'll come back."

John steps back just a smidgen, eyes wide with shock. Was this...was this really happening. His stomach twists anxiously, nervously and if this was a trick, it was definitely a cruel one. Slowly, he steps towards the opening of cage, his hands tentatively reaching forward to open the door. He can feel his breath hitch in his throat as the door swings open and relief, sweet relief is spreading from the tips of his fingers to the soles of his feet and before he knows it, John is shooting forward, slipping out of the cage and into the open. His heart swells with the prospect of freedom and he hasn't felt this happy in _so long_ though he forces himself to pause, to turn and face Dave with bright eyes. Whether he liked it or not, Dave _had_ treated him well, had given him everything he ever wanted-including his freedom. "Dave...I...Thank you."

And- there it was, right there. Of course Dave hadn't given up, he could never give up, and he got exactly what he wanted. The way John's face lights up, the way his eyes brighten and he positively _glows._.. Happy. That was all he wanted, and if this was the only way to get it, then so be it. His own lips tug up in a halfhearted semblance of a smile, weak and sort of empty, offering a shrug.

"Door's down the hall. Have fun out there," was the only reply he could muster, hands still shoved deep in his pockets to hide just how tight they were clenched, just how reluctant he was to just let him go. But the happy look on John's face... No. He wouldn't have changed his mind, even if he could go back and do it over. This was the only thing to do. Of course.

At least he has those last few moments to leech off of the exuberance John was radiating, take from him the happiness he would be devoid of so soon. He's already starting to turn, already planning to go off to his room. "Sing a song for me, yeah?"

"Really...thank you."

And then John is turning, his footsteps quick as he hurries down the hall, following Dave's instructions and finding the door that should lead to the skies that he so desperately craved for. He's reaching forward and opening the door, the sun warm on his face as he steps out. It's impossible to contain the joy that he feels and a song is bubbling past his lips, loud and clear and so full of emotion.

There's a passing thought that he hopes Dave hears him-this is for him after all, to show his thanks -but it's gone just as quick as he is.

One day he might return to Dave but for now, he's going to enjoy his newly gained freedom in the skies.

* * *

A/N: this was part of a roleplay with tumblr user planet-healer and it was beautiful.


End file.
